RASC News Agency: The Pakistani government has announced that unauthorized Afghanistani awaiting resettlement in a third country will be permitted to stay in Pakistan for an additional two months. This extension, disclosed on Wednesday, is part of Pakistan’s initiative to expel over a million undocumented foreigners residing in the country. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), over 450,000 individuals have returned to Afghanistan since the expulsion process commenced in early October. While the Pakistani government contends that 90% of them left “voluntarily,” the UNHCR argues that fear of arrest is the primary motivator behind their decision to depart.
Mortaza Solangi, the interim Minister of Information, stated that individuals surpassing the new deadline will incur a monthly fine of $100, capped at $800 with the extension. Solangi added, “The objective of these measures is to prompt illegal Afghanistani residents in Pakistan to procure legal documents or promptly finalize repatriation agreements in a third country.” This announcement ensues the visit of US State Department officials to Pakistan for discussions on the Afghanistani refugee issue. It is estimated that nearly 25,000 Afghanistani require administrative documents for resettlement in the United States.
Pakistan approximates that over 1.7 million undocumented Afghanistani nationals have resided in the country for an extended period, with the majority entering since the Soviet invasion in 1979. The most recent substantial influx, estimated between 600,000 to 800,000 people, transpired two years ago after the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan. Pakistani authorities attribute the expulsion of refugees to a significant escalation in violence, with over 600 attacks in the first 11 months of 2023.
Interior Minister Sarfaraz Bugti asserted in October that out of 24 suicide attacks during that period, 14 were perpetrated by Afghanistani nationals, providing no evidence. The Taliban maintains its position, affirming that Afghanistan soil is not employed for cross-border violence and rejecting any accusations of harboring terrorists.
